By considering the implementation, as well as the immediate and sustainable success of the Japanese professional football league (J-League) during its first two decades as a neglected research example, the authors apply the “network of value captures” research framework to the Japanese context. This research framework identifies and describes the business parameters of professional football (soccer) by the following dimensions: (1) the product and its features; (2) various customer groups; and (3) the future vision of the club as central to different levels of strategy aggregation. This chapter provides insights into the management of football in Japan by revealing different practices compared to Europe e.g. in target customer groups, in associated product marketing and merchandising or in distribution of media revenues. The success-story of the J-League also contributes to an increasing international awareness of Japanese football, its players and its fans.

The development of national parks and other protected areas has been widely promoted because of its potential for regional development in peripheral and sparsely populated areas. The argument is that the economic and social benefits seen in national parks in the USA and UK will also occur in the Swedish context in the form of an increased tourism-related labor market. Our aim was to analyze the possibility of such a development both in light of the policy visions of positive regional and local development and from the adversary point of view that protection of land is making it more difficult for 15 sparsely populated mountain municipalities in Sweden to prosper. We used a database covering the entire population of the area for 1991 to 2001. Our results show that factors other than the protected areas are connected to the development of a tourism labor market. The most positively correlated variables for change in tourism employment are population growth and proximity to ski lifts. Positive population development is also correlated to a positive change in the number of people employed in forest sectors. Thus, one of the main outcomes is that the assumed and almost automatic positive relation between nature conservation and tourism can is questionable.

Climate data from Empakaai Crater in northern Tanzania, covering the last 1200 years, are related to the establishment, development and decline of the ancient irrigation system at Engaruka. New dates for the system are linked to reconstructed climatic variations and historical data on long-distance and regional trade and migration patterns. A shift from a comparatively humid climate to drier conditions in the 1400s prompted the establishment of irrigated agriculture at Engaruka, and a flourishing long-distance trade increased its value as a water and food source for passing caravans. Once established, the land-use system at Engaruka was sufficiently resilient to survive and even intensify during much drier climate from c. 1500 to 1670 CE (Common Era) and during the decline of caravan trade between c. 1550 and 1750. The ancient land-use system probably reached its maximum extension during the humid conditions between 1670 and 1740, and was deserted in the early to mid 1800s, presumably as a result of the added effects of climate deterioration, the Maasai expansion, and change of livelihood strategies as agriculturalists became pastoralists. Towards the end of the 1800s irrigated agriculture was again established at Engaruka, in part driven by the transfer from pastoral to agricultural livelihoods caused by the Rinderpest.

AimsTo provide 12-month prevalence and disability burden estimates of a broad range of mental and neurological disorders in the European Union (EU) and to compare these findings to previous estimates. Referring to our previous 2005 review, improved up-to-date data for the enlarged EU on a broader range of disorders than previously covered are needed for basic, clinical and public health research and policy decisions and to inform about the estimated number of persons affected in the EU.MethodStepwise multi-method approach, consisting of systematic literature reviews, reanalyses of existing data sets, national surveys and expert consultations. Studies and data from all member states of the European Union (EU-27) plus Switzerland, Iceland and Norway were included. Supplementary information about neurological disorders is provided, although methodological constraints prohibited the derivation of overall prevalence estimates for mental and neurological disorders. Disease burden was measured by disability adjusted life years (DALY).ResultsPrevalence: It is estimated that each year 38.2% of the EU population suffers from a mental disorder. Adjusted for age and comorbidity, this corresponds to 164.8 million persons affected. Compared to 2005 (27.4%) this higher estimate is entirely due to the inclusion of 14 new disorders also covering childhood/adolescence as well as the elderly. The estimated higher number of persons affected (2011: 165 m vs. 2005: 82 m) is due to coverage of childhood and old age populations, new disorders and of new EU membership states. The most frequent disorders are anxiety disorders (14.0%), insomnia (7.0%), major depression (6.9%), somatoform (6.3%), alcohol and drug dependence (&gt; 4%), ADHD (5%) in the young, and dementia (1–30%, depending on age). Except for substance use disorders and mental retardation, there were no substantial cultural or country variations. Although many sources, including national health insurance programs, reveal increases in sick leave, early retirement and treatment rates due to mental disorders, rates in the community have not increased with a few exceptions (i.e. dementia). There were also no consistent indications of improvements with regard to low treatment rates, delayed treatment provision and grossly inadequate treatment.Disability: Disorders of the brain and mental disorders in particular, contribute 26.6% of the total all cause burden, thus a greater proportion as compared to other regions of the world. The rank order of the most disabling diseases differs markedly by gender and age group; overall, the four most disabling single conditions were: depression, dementias, alcohol use disorders and stroke.ConclusionIn every year over a third of the total EU population suffers from mental disorders. The true size of “disorders of the brain” including neurological disorders is even considerably larger. Disorders of the brain are the largest contributor to the all cause morbidity burden as measured by DALY in the EU. No indications for increasing overall rates of mental disorders were found nor of improved care and treatment since 2005; less than one third of all cases receive any treatment, suggesting a considerable level of unmet needs. We conclude that the true size and burden of disorders of the brain in the EU was significantly underestimated in the past. Concerted priority action is needed at all levels, including substantially increased funding for basic, clinical and public health research in order to identify better strategies for improved prevention and treatment for disorders of the brain as the core health challenge of the 21st century.

This chapter examines how the news media in Sweden affect the public’s perceptions of companies. The news media’s attention toward the corporate life has increased significantly over the last few decades. In concert with this development, corporate communication has become more sophisticated. The public relations industry is established, and corporate reputation has become an important term both within the business community and in research. In Sweden, the relationship between news media and companies is often understood and discussed from the perspective of trust, and consequently trust has also become an important dimension of corporate reputation. The chapter first presents the national traits of Sweden, followed by a literature review of extant research in Sweden on corporate reputation, agenda-setting theory, and the relationship between business and the news media. This is followed by an outline of data showing trust as a key dimension of corporate reputation in Sweden. The chapter ends with research conclusions and a discussion.

We examine whether adult education delays retirement to potentially increase labour force participation among the elderly, a mechanism suggested in the OECD strategy for “active ageing” and the “Lisbon strategy” of the EU. Using register data from Sweden, we analyse transcripts from adult education for the period 1979–2004 and annual earnings 1982–2004. We match samples of treated individuals, in adult education 1986–1989, and untreated on the propensity score. The timing of exit from the workforce is assessed by non-parametric estimation of survival rates in the labour force. The results indicate no effects of adult education on the timing of retirement.